Jon Cole Posted February 6 Posted February 6 Most everyone must now be aware of the potential price increases we may see here in the states. Kits from overseas may well be going up higher than usual. Does either Round2, and Revell/ Revell Germany still deal with the use of tooling in China? And if so, can anyone say if the future holds any chance of it being shipped here to the states? PLEASE, no politics! Let's just keep this on subject. Thanks! 1
ranma Posted February 6 Posted February 6 (edited) Sadly any tooling that is in China will stay put Once in China it will never be allowed to be removed. China did this to Franklin and Danbury mint's die cast cars! Edited February 6 by ranma 1
Mike 1017 Posted February 6 Posted February 6 I just read that China has increased shipping by $50.00. There was no explanation how this is going to implemented. IMO $50.00 is not enough to increase shipping container costs. Just what is inside of the container. Mike
oldcarfan Posted February 7 Posted February 7 As with Danbury Mint, once the tooling got to China, it stays in China. If I remember right, Danbury sent their tooling there to save money. The situation seemed to work for them until with no notice, Chinese officials took the tools and passed them on to a Chinese company to reuse, essentially put an end to Danbury's diecast car business. 2
Bainford Posted February 7 Posted February 7 Yup, when tooling goes to China it's a one-way ticket. Eventually there is going to be a lot of abandoned tooling in China, and most of it will be up for grabs. Makes me wonder if one day unsanctioned kits will be produced from this tooling. 1
rattle can man Posted February 7 Posted February 7 I'm not worried about prices for myself. But I do wonder about the future of the hobby. My stash is bigger than any LHS or chain hobby shop I've ever been in. The only thing I will need for the rest of my life are supplies like glue, paint, occasional aftermarket parts, etc. 5
oldcarfan Posted February 8 Posted February 8 8 hours ago, rattle can man said: I'm not worried about prices for myself. But I do wonder about the future of the hobby. My stash is bigger than any LHS or chain hobby shop I've ever been in. The only thing I will need for the rest of my life are supplies like glue, paint, occasional aftermarket parts, etc. I'm like you, I have more kits than time. Of course that doesn't mean I don't keep buying, especially JDM stuff and Porsches. I need to sell off a bunch of kits, but it just seems like too much trouble.
Ace-Garageguy Posted February 8 Posted February 8 (edited) 20 hours ago, rattle can man said: My stash is bigger than any LHS or chain hobby shop I've ever been in. The only thing I will need for the rest of my life are supplies like glue, paint, occasional aftermarket parts, etc. I'm right there with ya. I was looking at my collection the other day and realized I have way more than enough stuff to open a very well stocked static model and HO-scale train store. Kinda thinking that maybe after I get all the 1:1 projects done and start modeling full time, opening a hobby shop might be a fun way to meet people, make friends, and introduce younger folks to physical hobbies. Edited February 8 by Ace-Garageguy 9
slusher Posted February 8 Posted February 8 On 2/6/2025 at 6:02 AM, ranma said: Sadly any tooling that is in China will stay put Once in China it will never be allowed to be removed. China did this to Franklin and Danbury mint's die cast cars! Correct the deal with doing business and the low cost labor is they will keep everything. I only know that. Everything goes up. Everyone who has a stash hold on to it and there is no cost if it’s in your home it’s paid for.guys. Look at it like this what happened to Danbury that could be round 2 but you have your stash no scrambling on eBay to buy kits. 1
Lunajammer Posted February 9 Posted February 9 If tariffs, shipping, or industrial ransom makes kit prices prohibitive and considering the size of many individual stashes and ages of the holders, I'd say the secondary market could become a primary market (for committed hobbyists anyway). Swap meets, toy and model shows, flea markets etc. are still and always will be the places to get the most reasonably priced kits... if you're willing to make the drive. 1
Tom Geiger Posted February 9 Posted February 9 On 2/7/2025 at 12:42 PM, rattle can man said: I'm not worried about prices for myself. But I do wonder about the future of the hobby. My stash is bigger than any LHS or chain hobby shop I've ever been in. The only thing I will need for the rest of my life are supplies like glue, paint, occasional aftermarket parts, etc. Same here... But Murphy says "Every great project requires parts from a kit you do not own!" 1 1 2
oldcarfan Posted February 9 Posted February 9 On 2/7/2025 at 9:59 PM, slusher said: Correct the deal with doing business and the low cost labor is they will keep everything. I only know that. Everything goes up. Everyone who has a stash hold on to it and there is no cost if it’s in your home it’s paid for.guys. Look at it like this what happened to Danbury that could be round 2 but you have your stash no scrambling on eBay to buy kits. Apparently that rule about China keeping everything applies across the board. My FIL has an old Honda generator. It broke down and the guy told him to go buy a Predator engine from Harbor Freight. It seems that engine is the Honda one that they copied part for part. He said it bolted in place exactly like the Honda one. 1
Tabbysdaddy Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Yes, I noticed Harbor Freight has a knockoff finish nail gun that matches my old Porter Cable one exactly except for the color.
rattle can man Posted February 9 Posted February 9 My stash isn't going anywhere. In addition to over 300 kits, I have two shelves of full parts boxes. 1
Ace-Garageguy Posted February 10 Posted February 10 5 hours ago, oldcarfan said: ... My FIL has an old Honda generator. It broke down and the guy told him to go buy a Predator engine from Harbor Freight. It seems that engine is the Honda one that they copied part for part. He said it bolted in place exactly like the Honda one. There is historical precedent for that. Some postwar Japanese automotive engines were part-for-part copies of British engines, and except for the fasteners being metric on the Japanese parts, many things would readily interchange. 3
Mark Posted February 10 Posted February 10 1 minute ago, Ace-Garageguy said: There is historical precedent for that. Some postwar Japanese automotive engines were part-for-part copies of British engines, and except for the fasteners being metric on the Japanese parts, many things would readily interchange. The Toyota AA (the one that resembled a Chrysler Airflow) used a cribbed copy of a Chevrolet inline six. The same engine was used in trucks produced for war, the result being that the Japanese military used parts from captured Chevy trucks to keep their Toyota trucks running, and vice versa. The copied Chevy six was used in early Land Cruisers also. 2
1930fordpickup Posted February 10 Posted February 10 Lindberg back in the day made some kits in the USA. I just looked and the Antlantis stuff I have is made in the USA. 2
Brian Austin Posted February 10 Posted February 10 Glencoe Models is still made in the US, in the vicinity of Worcester, MA. 1
papajohn97 Posted March 4 Posted March 4 (edited) I’ve been ordering a number of AFV kits/ accessories recently from China (yes I also like to build tanks, planes & ships along with cars) and wanted to pass on an observation/ tip to my fellow modelers here. I have ordered from Chinese sellers on eBay recently because they sometimes have kits that are out of production, unavailable from domestic dealers and eBay sellers and are reasonably priced. While the shipping can also be cheap (and sometimes even free!), the trade-off is that it can take 1 to 4 months or even longer to receive the item(s). One of my concerns since January was that I might also be charged an additional tariff fee to get a few of my pending orders delivered but thankfully the US gov’t extended the “de minimus provision” for shipments under $800 USD in early February. I believe/ hope that the $800 tariff exclusion will still apply even with the Chinese tariffs being increased from 10% to 20% for any of us placing small orders from China. Interestingly, the last few kits I ordered from Chinese eBay suppliers were shipped and received within 1-2 weeks (!)….maybe my Chinese eBay sellers have been expediting shipping (airfreight vs. shipping container?) to avoid tariff paperwork/ delays???? My thought: The majority of model kits are molded/ kitted in China these days. If there are any kits that you want from a US dealer, order them immediately! US hobby dealers likely place orders from the manufacturers greater than $800 so expect a 20% on model kits sold in the US by hobby dealers soon. This will also likely crank-up prices on eBay from everyone/ everywhere (even directly from China on eBay) due to market forces. I guess the silver-lining is that my stash will finally stop growing and I’ll have more cash to pay for those eggs! 😁 Edited March 4 by papajohn97 Spelling
Rodent Posted March 4 Posted March 4 I have heard from several (reliable) sources that the de minimus provision is going away as well.
rattle can man Posted March 4 Posted March 4 I'm well stocked for many a year on models, Model RR and books.
oldcarfan Posted March 5 Posted March 5 Models is one area that I have covered. I was a bargain hunter for twenty years. Not for resale, but as a hobby. But now I'm at an age I need to start selling some of them off.
niteowl7710 Posted March 5 Posted March 5 On 2/5/2025 at 10:37 PM, Jon Cole said: Most everyone must now be aware of the potential price increases we may see here in the states. Kits from overseas may well be going up higher than usual. Does either Round2, and Revell/ Revell Germany still deal with the use of tooling in China? And if so, can anyone say if the future holds any chance of it being shipped here to the states? PLEASE, no politics! Let's just keep this on subject. Thanks! There's still some Revell tooling based in the U.S., the reissue of the Chevy LUV High Roller will be made here since the Chevy LUV tooling is clearly still here given all the MADE IN THE USA stickers emblazoned on it. Round2s U.S. inventory would be some really old AMT/MPC tools that never got sent and all of the Crafthouse era Lindberg stuff that's never left the place in Michigan that tooled it. Of course Salvinos produces their kits here after their tooling is made over there. Increased prices would be subject to how much the company, the distributors, and the retailers feel like absorbing the current 20% tariff. Also based on the prices of the most recent round of Revell kits (Stranger Things) a 20% increase would be roughly $4. Before the AARP people club me like a seal, yes I get any increase to someone on fixed income is a disaster. But we're also not talking about some meteoric rise of $10+ either (yet)... 1
Bugatti Fan Posted March 6 Posted March 6 (edited) Geopolitics, tarriffs, shipping costs, local and import taxes unfortunately all have a bearing on the cost to the end consumer and we just have to live with it. As far as rip offs go, the wooden ship model market has been affected most badly by illegal copying of products as they predominately use laser cut wood and photo etched metal parts that are so much easier to counterfeit then plastic or diecast kits. Edited March 6 by Bugatti Fan 1
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